Encoded in EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/perform.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2013568044
DACS was used as the primary description standard.
Collection material in English.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
Gift, Peter Mintun, 2014 and 2022
No further accruals are expected.
Shantel Lambert, Janet McKinney, and Rachel McNellis processed the Dana Suesse Papers, and McKinney and McNellis coded the finding aid, in 2022. Janet McKinney updated the finding aid to include digital files in 2023.
Sound recordings (discs, cassettes, and open reel tapes) from the Dana Suesse Papers have been transferred to the Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, where they are identified as part of the Dana Suesse Collection (MAVIS no. 17583). An inventory of this material is available in the Music Division's collection file.
A small collection of Dana Suesse materials can be found at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Compositions performed by the Paul Whiteman Band can be found in the Paul Whiteman Collection at Williams College.
The Ferde Grofé Collection contains Grofé's arrangements for the
Materials from the Dana Suesse Papers are governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.) and other applicable international copyright laws.
The Dana Suesse Papers are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Music Division prior to visiting in order to determine whether the desired materials will be available at that time.
Certain restrictions on using or copying materials may apply.
Digital files were received as part of the Dana Suesse Papers and have been assigned the digital ID number SuesseD_MUS_2022_073. Use the digital ID number to request access copies of the files. Access to this digital content may be available onsite only in the Performing Arts Reading Room and requires advance request. Consult reference staff in the Performing Arts Reading Room for more information.
The digital files in this collection include .jpg, .pdf, .png, and .psd.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [item, date, container or digital ID number], Dana Suesse Papers, Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The Dana Suesse Papers span the years 1860 to 2016, the bulk of which date from 1930 to 1980. The Music series primarily consists of holograph scores, sketches, lead sheets, and parts for works composed by Suesse. The Music by Suesse subseries includes scores for her solo piano and orchestral works, musical comedy and popular songs, as well as indexes she compiled of lead sheets and song lyrics. The Other Music subseries includes harmony and counterpoint exercises from her studies with Nadia Boulanger, as well as arrangements made by Suesse for the piano duo Vera Brodsky and Harold Triggs. Brodsky and Triggs performed these two-piano arrangements of popular songs on the WJZ radio show
The Project Files primarily consist of produced and unproduced plays and musicals, as well as information concerning individual compositions and her 1974 Carnegie Hall concert. Suesse organized each project in their own binder and material may include scripts, notes, lead sheets, lyric sheets, programs, correspondence, clippings, and holograph music.
The Correspondence consists of letters both to and from Suesse. Ample correspondence from her manager Miriam Stern provides insight into the business side of her music career, while Suesse's letters to her mother, Nina Quarrier, document her personal and professional life in New York City as well as her trip abroad to study with Nadia Boulanger.
Biographical Materials include awards, memberships, report cards, some legal documents, travel papers, personal and religious documents, and information about family history. The juvenilia show that from an early age, Suesse was creative in other artistic mediums beside music. She wrote poetry, created paintings and drawings, and designed costumes and dresses. Material compiled by the donor, Peter Mintun, includes correspondence with others regarding Suesse, research materials compiled about her, as well as details regarding a special dinner party he planned in her honor.
The Photographs, most of which date between 1911 and 1974, depict Suesse alone and with others in both candid and professional settings, including her concert at Carnegie Hall in 1974. It also includes a significant amount of childhood and family photographs, several sketches of Suesse, and a tintype of her grandfather, Dana Ward Quarrier, from 1860.
Programs and Promotional Material are present for concerts in which Suesse performed as well as concerts where her compositions were performed by others. Playbills, flyers, and other advertisements can also be found in this series.
Clippings contain biographical features, concert announcements, and reviews spanning the full length of Suesse's career, from early childhood recitals to the 1990s.
The Datebooks span from 1945 to 1987 and provide a fascinating picture of Suesse's daily life, recording both social and professional engagements. In 1957, she was baptized in the Catholic Church; the liturgical datebooks only record her religious activities.
Digital Files in the collection chiefly consist of scans of music materials prepared by the donor, Peter Mintun. Also included are some photographs, clippings, and project files.
The collection is arranged in nine series:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2013568044
This series contains Suesse's holograph scores, lead sheets, juvenilia, and sketch materials for solo piano, piano duet, musical comedy, popular songs, orchestral works, arrangements, and orchestrations. There are also orchestration notes and harmony and counterpoint exercises. A majority of the music materials were scanned by the donor, Peter Mintun. These scans are contained in the Digital Files series.
Organized as two subseries.
This subseries includes holograph scores for solo piano and piano-vocal scores for musical comedy and popular songs, along with lead sheets and sketch material. Holograph full scores for orchestral works often include parts, sometimes with performance markings. Though not comprehensive, these works include early juvenilia and continue through Suesse's most prolific time period (1930s-1950s). They also include orchestrations she completed for her 1974 Carnegie Hall concert and 1975 concert at the Newport Music Festival. Annotations and manuscript scores in other hands are identified when known.
Arranged alphabetically by title.
This subseries includes arrangements that Suesse made for the piano duo Vera Brodsky and Harold Triggs. Brodsky and Triggs performed these two-piano arrangements of popular songs on the WJZ radio show
Arranged alphabetically by composition title or folder title.
This series encompasses Suesse’s produced and unproduced plays and musicals, as
well as a television show, concerts, and compositions dating from 1936 to 1985.
Items include scripts, notes, lead sheets, lyric sheets, programs, correspondence,
clippings, and holograph music. The series contains a significant amount of
materials related to
Arranged alphabetically by title.
This series includes personal and professional correspondence, both typescript and autograph, between Suesse and others. A substantial amount of letters to her mother, Nina Quarrier, document her personal and professional life in New York City as well as her trip abroad to study with Nadia Boulanger. A small number of letters to and from her first husband Courtney Burr, second husband Charles Edwin Delinks, step-father Robert Chase Stevens, uncle Arthur Quarrier, and grandmother Sallie L. Hogan further document her family life.
The series also includes ample correspondence from her manager, Miriam Stern, that documents the business aspect of Suesse's music career. Other letters provide a snapshot of her vast network of prominent figures in the music, literary, and arts scenes, including Tallulah Bankhead, George Bartieneff, Nadia Boulanger, Vera Brodsky, Sammy Cahn, Samuel Chotzinoff, Virginia Faulkner, Michael Feinstein, Leonard Feist, Frederick Fennell, Arthur Fiedler, William Gaxton, Ira Gershwin, Oscar Hammerstein, Hildegard, Coral Potter, Ethel Bartlett Robertson, Jack Robbins, Carlos Salzedo, Oscar Serlin, Hans Spialek, Kay Swift, and Emanuel Vardi.
Arranged alphabetically by last name.
This series contains a variety of materials related to Suesse's career, including awards, memberships, legal documents, and transcriptions from radio show appearances. A possible memoir, "Nobody Gets Top Billing," provides anecdotes regarding colleagues Suesse worked with, though it is incomplete. Other items provide insight into Suesse's personal life. The juvenilia demonstrate that from an early age Suesse was creative in other artistic mediums beside music. Suesse also danced, wrote poetry, created paintings and drawings, and designed costumes and dresses. Report cards, travel papers, personal and religious documents, scrapbooks, a recipe book, and family historical information all reveal further details about her life. There are also materials compiled by donor Peter Mintun, including correspondence with others regarding Suesse, research materials assembled about her, and details regarding a special dinner party Mintun planned in her honor in 1979.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Photographs in the collection, most of which date between 1911 and 1974, depict Suesse alone and with others in both candid and professional settings. These include a substantial number of rare photographs from her early childhood, as well as professional photographs of her as a young dancer and pianist. Additional headshots and portraits document her life as a performer and composer through the 1970s, including her performance at Carnegie Hall in 1974. Other photographs depict Suesse with prominent musical and literary figures, including Polly Adler, Virginia Faulkner, George Gershwin, Ferde Grofé, Edward Heyman, and Paul Whiteman. Notable family photographs include headshots of Nina Quarrier, a portrait of Elizabeth and Samuel B. Chilton dating from around 1860, and a tintype of Dana Ward Quarrier. This series also includes several sketches of Suesse.
Arranged alphabetically by last name or subject.
The programs represent concerts in which Suesse performed as well as concerts where her compositions were performed by others. There is one annotated program from a Sergei Rachmaninoff concert that Suesse attended as a child. Souvenir programs, playbills, flyers, and other advertisements can also be found in this series.
Arranged chronologically.
Suesse's clippings contain biographical features, concert announcements, and reviews spanning the full length of Suesse's career and beyond, from early childhood recitals to the 1990s. The bulk of publicity compiled here is from the 1930s. This material has been photocopied to preserve its physical integrity.
Arranged chronologically.
Suesse's datebooks provide a comprehensive account of her daily activities, recording both social and professional engagements. Included are three datebooks from her early years in New York City (1929-1943). In 1957, Suesse was baptized in the Catholic Church and her liturgical datebooks only record religious activities.
Arranged by type of datebook and chronologically therein.
Early datebooks are not available due to fragility and cannot be served without prior approval from the Head of Acquisitions and Processing.
This series mainly consists of scans of collection materials made by the donor, Peter Mintun. The majority are music materials, but also included are some photographs, clippings, and project files.
Principal file formats: .jpg, .pdf, .png, .psd
The music is loosely organized into folders by type of score (i.e. manuscript, published, arrangements, unidentified), then by title within each folder. Non-music materials are all contained in one folder, with a small amount grouped together by subject therein.